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Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Book Review and Giveaway: The Unscripted Life of Lizzy Dillinger

By Sara Steven

She’s got a movie deal. He’s got the lead role. Can she choose between her family and her Hollywood crush? Stay-at-home mom Lizzy Dillinger escapes the monotony of her humdrum marriage by writing down her daydreams. When her producer friend contracts her story for a movie and invites her on set, she jumps at the chance to leave the suburbs until the film’s in the can. But Lizzy’s big break gets even better when she learns the hunky character who starred in her daydreams will be played by her Hollywood crush, Ben Winters. On location in Arizona, the desert gets even hotter when Lizzy and Ben strike up a flirtatious friendship. But her hopes of a celebrity fling shatter when a family visit brings her fantasy crashing into reality. Against the dazzling lights and the glamorous movie sets, her cookie-cutter life back home seems painfully bland. Torn between the man of her dreams and the family who helped define her, Lizzy must search her heart to find where her true passion lies... (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)

I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for the last six years, and could easily relate to how Lizzy feels. There is monotony at times, the daily workings of tending to your family, and often that means your own wants and needs aren’t met. It’s not so much that those in your inner circle wouldn’t want to ensure that you’re happy and fulfilled. It’s that you yourself forget what’s needed to feel that fulfillment.

Lizzy feels that lack of fulfillment, and along with those emotions are past experiences that not only affect how she feels, but the way her husband feels, too. There is a lot of baggage between this couple. It lends into her immediate attraction to Ben, a man who she has had a crush on from afar for several years. While reading through their interactions, I kept wanting to read on to see what I imagined would eventually happen. And while I knew the right choice would be to see her distance herself from Ben, I couldn’t help but want to see something come to fruition. Through her thoughts and dialogue, I could sense how youthful Lizzy feels when she’s around him. How free. It was hard not to want that for her.

There was a lot of banter in the dialogue between Lizzy and Ben, as well as the conversations she has with her friends. They make up a nice support system during her time of need. While I felt the dialogue at times could get really heavy in places where I would have liked to see more plot, it was in those moments where we learn a lot more about a woman who used to be a lot different than the person she is today. And, we don’t really know until the end of the story what she is going to do with her future, or who will be there. It made for an interesting read.

While I’m not entirely sure what my own decision would have been, had I been in her shoes, it was nice to live that experience vicariously through Lizzy. We’re given a very realistic approach to the struggles so many of us face when it comes to matters of the heart, and wanting to do the right thing for our own personal happiness, while still living a fulfilling life.

This is our stop during the book blitz for The Unscripted Life of Lizzy Dillinger by Marianne Hansen. This book blitz is organized by Lola's Blog Tours, who also gave me the book in exchange for an honest review. The book blitz runs from 5 till 11 November. See the tour schedule here.

Marianne Hansen is a redhead who loves red lipstick and high heels. She earned a BA, MA and JD so she could ultimately stay home with her kids. She travels whenever she can and dreams of traveling when she can’t. She lives in Montana with her family.

There is a tour wide giveaway for the book blitz of The Unscripted Life of Lizzy Dillinger. One winner will win a signed copy of The Unscripted Life of Lizzy Dillinger and a $25 Amazon Gift Card. US Only.

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